Among the bands are friends of Radio Free Charleston like Voices Of Anatole, Linework, Dead Face Down and Strangled by Statues.The gates open at 10:30 AM and admission is five dollars, which goes to a great cause.

This is a killer chance to catch some of the Kanawha Valley’s top metal monsters, all in one place.

This week’s Monday Morning Art is a digitally-assaulted photograph of the tire on my car that blew out last Thrusday night on I 64, headed toward Charleston. I’d planned to see the excellent CYAC drama HOODS. I didn’t make it that night, but we saw it on Saturday, and it is the must-see show in Charleston right now. You have three more chances to see it this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Anyway, the tire apparently spontaneously combusted. A broken belt, possibly caused by a curb that leaped in front of my car in the middle of the street earlier in the day, heated up due to friction, and sort of blowed up. Luckily the burning debris shot out in the opposite direction from my just-filled gas tank.

I’d never seen a tire self-destruct quite like that, so I took a photo while I still had it in the trunk. Then I digitally-assaulted it. You can see the original picture after the jump, and click on the artsy one to see a larger version.

George Gerswhin would have turned 112 today, if he hadn’t been run over by the Batmobile back in the 1950s (my memory is a little hazy on this, so you might want to look it up). In honor of one of America’s greatest composers, we bring you a playlist of Gershwin today. You’ll get to hear some of George Gershwin’s most famed compositions interpreted by the likes of The Bronski Beat, Brian Wilson, John Pizzarelli and Lady Gaga. You’ll also see a short film based on “Rhaspody In Blue” and a tap dance number featuring Eleanor Powell. It all kicks off with a punk version of “Summertime.”

We’re doing something a little different this week. We are debuting a new episode of Radio Free Charleston on a Friday. You can see it right below this block of text. The show this week features music from Andy Park, Stephen Beckner and Stone Soup, plus some offbeat animation and a public service announcement for Covenant House that stars Ann Magnuson.

Most of this episode was shot at The Empty Glass on Thursday, September 16, during a benefit for Empty Glass Records, a project that will allow Charleston’s most celebrated bar to install recording equipment so that they can preserve the magic moments that happen there on a regular basis.

Watch the show, then follow the jump to read all about it, and also check in with a music-packed weekend here in town.

You might think that with the current racial tensions in this country, The Contemporary Youth Arts Company was motivated to revive their original play, “HOODS,” a drama about the turning tide of race relations in the Appalachian foothills in the 1950s by politics, but you’d be wrong.

“Politics had nothing to do with our decision to revisit this play,” says playwright and director, Dan Kehde. “There are two reasons I wanted to do ‘HOODS’ again. First, it needed to be rewritten and I had time and wanted to do it right. Also, I saw that I had the cast for it, and felt that I could pull it off the way I wanted to.”

Opening Thursday night and running through next week, “HOODS” is set in October 1957 and tells the story of Joe Stampers, the patriarch of a family that winds up in the middle of a racial incident. Stampers is one of “them,” a euphemism for the KKK, who are never mentioned by name during the play, but you will see their trademark robes.

Flashback to last summer with part seven of our six-part coverage of FestivAll 2010. This show brings you more music from Brian Diller and The Velvet Gypsies, plus extra music from Craig D’Andrea and Ron Sowell, and footage of the balloon sculptures at The Charleston Town Center.

We had some great material that didn’t quite fit into our six-part extravaganza last summer, so we went back to the well one more time. Host segments were shot at the same time as the host bits for episode 107, back in July. Now that the heat of summer is passed, we can sit back and enjoy the music.

We kick off this week with an abstract digital painting I call “Radiophonic.” I was trying to work with textures and colors that aren’t normally in my repertoire. I also went for a bit of a Ralph Steadman vibe with the line quality. There’s not much more to add about this one. I do like the way it came out.

It’s hard to believe, but forty years ago this weekend, Jimi Hendrix, the undisputed master of the electric guitar, died in London. His musical legacy was so strong that four decades later he’s still relevant. After years of legal disputes and wrangling over his estate, it seems that his family finally has things in order, and newly-remastered versions of his original works, plus loads of unreleased (at least officially) material is hitting stores. You can check the official website for details, and watch the above videos for an example of his virtuosity and his interview with Dick Cavett.

Last night was the third Thursday of the month, and that means it’s time for the monthly PopCult ArtWalk Photo Essay.

It was a good time, with cool exhibits opening all over town, and Amy Williams Q & A (A Visual and Performance Art Exhibit) taking place at The Purple Moon. After ArtWalk, Melanie and I had a great dinner at The Bluegrass Kitchen, then zipped around the corner where we shot episode 111 of Radio Free Charleston, which you can see early next week.

With such a busy day, you might think that this edition of The PopCulteer might not feature much besides ArtWalk photos.

You’d be right. Check out the people and art from last night, after the jump.

We’re starting off this week with a digital painting over a photograph of a deer that I saw in South Charleston over the summer. I played with the colors a bit. This one’s painted with a bit of an Impasto style, with some surrealist color choices blended in.